The Minister of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Serigne Guèye Diop, shows a lot of activism in the media and on social networks. Cet homme, qui gère certains des secteurs les plus stratégiques du gouvernement, veut montrer qu’il est capable de résoudre les problèmes les plus cruciaux du pays. One of his biggest concerns seems to be redressing Senegal’s irresistibly deficit trade balance. The more time passes, the more it deepens to our disadvantage. Official data showed that the trade deficit, in October 2024, was 342.4 billion, while the previous month, the same deficit was 121.6 billion Cfa.
Ainsi, on l’a entendu sur la chaîne de télévision nationale, Rts1, déclarer que prochainement deux unités de production de sucre devraient voir le jour en Casamance naturelle, à travers la région de Kolda et celle de Ziguinchor. Le ministre a même affirmé que les études du projet seraient déjà terminées et les documents soumis au Premier ministre pour approbation. Sans présumer de ce qui pourrait en résulter, force est de constater que ce n’est pas la première fois qu’il est question d’implanter une usine de production de sucre en Casamance. Déjà, en 2012, dès l’arrivée du président Macky Sall, son ministre de l’Agriculture de l’époque, Benoît Sambou, « piloté » par un grand architecte spécialiste des éléphants blancs dans plusieurs pays d’Afrique, avait annoncé avoir mobilisé 50 milliards de FCFA pour the creation of a sugar factory, with a production capacity, at the time, of at least 100,000 tonnes. These figures, if they had been based on any reality, would have made it possible, at the time, to put an end to Senegal’s sugar deficit. The funniest thing, if we can say so, is that Benoît Sambou, when migrating from Agriculture to Youth, took with him the sugar company file, and we never heard anything more about the affair. On the other hand, we highlighted another agricultural project, which gave birth to Prodac…
Plein de moyens, et surtout pas à court d’idées, le ministre du Commerce a annoncé un jour, plus vite que son cerveau, sa volonté d’en finir avec les importations de fripes et de vêtements de seconde main. We don’t know what could motivate him. Le Sénégal ne dispose plus d’une industrie textile digne de ce nom et les différentes politiques gouvernementales au fil des décennies ont porté un coup mortel à l’industrie textile sénégalaise, qui était l’une des plus dynamiques d’Afrique. Serigne Guèye Diop pense peut-être que le blocage des vêtements de seconde main pourrait contribuer à relancer l’industrie textile du pays, à recréer des emplois et à peser sur la balance commerciale. The trouble is that, very few days after his sensational exit, he was forced to backpedal and go back, not on his statements, but on the way in which they would have been reported. Which quite simply explains that, if the will is there, the means and arrangements to put in place are not yet there.
It must be taken into account that in 2021, more than 17,000 tonnes of “feug jaay” (second-hand clothes) entered this country. Unfortunately, Le Quotidien was unable to obtain figures regarding the import duties for these products into the country. Néanmoins, les informations s’accordent à reconnaître que si les petits revendeurs des marchés ou de certains coins de quartiers se débrouillent avec juste de quoi subvenir aux besoins de leur famille, les grands commerçants n’ont aucune raison de se plaindre de ces produits. For a while competing with cheap clothes from China, Western second-hand clothing is now on the rise. And importers from America and Europe are not the last to rub their hands, because the market includes a very large part of African countries.
We remember that during the first term of American President Donald Trump, his “administration” (government) entered into conflict with countries like Rwanda and Uganda, which he threatened with trade sanctions, and even the cessation of certain American aid. The fault of these countries? Having announced their intention to ban the entry of second-hand clothes into their territories, because they contributed to killing local production. The American argument was to say that the poor in these poor countries had no other way to dress themselves decently than to resort to “feug jaay”. On n’entend plus Museveni ni Kagame tenter de revenir sur cette affaire. We can imagine that among the prerequisites for the possible implementation of this decision, Serigne Guèye Diop and his government will try, if they have the means and the will, to revive the country’s cotton industry.
Il faudra pour cela ne plus laisser le soutien aux agriculteurs du sud-est du pays, où est cultivé le coton, aux seules mains de la Sodefitex, nationalisée, ne l’oublions pas. Revalorisée et mieux payée, elle pourrait éventuellement intéresser les derniers producteurs textiles du pays, notamment Serigne Mboup qui veut relancer son usine Kahone avec Domitexka, ou Ibrahima Macodou Fall, qui avait promis de relancer la Nsts de Thiès. With the disappearance of Sotiba Simpafric and other textile producers, we cannot count on setting up a textile factory overnight. But this embryonic industry could perhaps help the revival of Senegal’s once vibrant garment industry, the only remnant of which are the couturiers, who are praised across Africa for their talent and imagination.
La Casamance est bonne. Mais pourquoi pas CSS ?
The same is true of the sugar factories in Casamance which we spoke about above. Since its creation in the 1970s, the Senegalese Sugar Company has strived to meet the sugar needs of the Senegalese. Its leaders, Jean-Claude Mimran, its CEO, first and foremost, have always declared to the Senegalese that they were not afraid of competition. In their understanding, there is enough room for two or three more production plants. Doesn’t Ivory Coast have 5 sugar production factories? Senegal could do the same. En revanche, l’État ne devrait pas commencer à encourager la contrebande en accordant des autorisations d’importation à des commerçants dont la contribution à la balance des paiements est proche de zéro. Often, these sugar importing traders do not have the same costs as the Css which produces and processes all its sugar on site.
The Mimran factory is the country’s leading industry and one of the largest employers in the northern region of the country. Dans l’agglomération Richard Toll-Dagana, elle emploie 8 000 personnes et en fait vivre environ le double, à travers les métiers annexes et les commerçants et autres fournisseurs. Même si elle augmente sa production, elle est confrontée, depuis plus de 10 ans, à une indisponibilité de terres qui, selon elle, l’empêche d’augmenter ses récoltes.
The idea of transposing factories to the southern regions of the country will be beneficial if the said units manage to break the Css production monopoly. The latter has never claimed it. We should also congratulate Serigne Guèye Diop for having been able to find, during this period, investors willing to put 50 billion CFA twice into this company. It is an initiative which will create employment in the country, will revitalize an economic zone, and will help to curb the rural exodus and emigration, illegal or legal. But if it is only a daydream, as in the time of Benoît Sambou and his architect, why not grant the Css the means to realize its promises and ambitions? Avec Mimran au moins, nous avons pu voir jusqu’à présent quelque chose de concret.
[email protected]
